Some things were the same. Some were different.
- The majority of the students were girls. While boys are challenging in some sense... girls present a whole new set of challenges. I don't think I can say I favor one or the other... but I definitely have more leeway to rip into boys vs. girls. Discrimination... bias... I tend to think that's just the reality of things. Both times... I pushed the boys to the brink of tears. I would never do that to girls... no no.
- Yummy-yummy - I got smart this time. Learning from the other teacher, every week, I spent money on snacks. Ice cream, Pringles, Izze's, Twinkies, whatever. Then it got to a point where the kids got greedy and expected it every week. Geez...!!
- Time mis-management - I needed more time... One more week. Last year I was able to get all the boys up on stage in just 8 weeks. How did I screw up this time??
- Bite off WAY more than I can chew - Huda thunk that a parent with an ESL child would enroll him into a speech class!?!? Not only am I teaching theology, I'm teaching apologetics, public speaking, speech writing... and now I'm teaching all that............... in MANDARIN!?!?!?!? I can't believe I gave the parent an option. I can't believe I painted myself into a corner by making that offer. That first night... I stayed up late to translate the syllabus into Chinese. Every week, the homework assignments, the emails to the parents, had to be written in English and my street-talking Chinese. And in the end...
- ...黃天不负有心人. That little boy made his speech. It was done in Chinese.. which is fine. He had a lot of help writing the speech. Which is fine. But after all those weeks of scolding, stretching, coaching, befriending... I got through. And oddly enough... no matter how harsh I treated him, he kept on coming back for more. Almost like he wanted and needed an male disciplinary figure in his life.
- And not just him... this year, unlike last year, the class REALLY WENT AT IT. The questions they asked!! The critical thinking that occurred!! The doubts they must be facing!! There were several days where I gave up on the curriculum because the Holy Spirit was leading the class into a whole new level of understanding their faith. Speech or no speech... that was the ultimate goal.
- Speaking of ultimate goals... my own personal goal. I go back to my argument... Obedience trumps passion. I'm Jonah. I don't want to go to Nineveh. But if God tells me to go... who am I to say "No?" And should I say no... beware of a giant fish! Coincidentally, it's Holy Week that I type this... but did Jesus want to go to the cross?? No!!! At Gethsemane, He clearly wanted out... but He was obedient, and he submitted. Ironically, that resulted in what is called the Passion of Christ.
{Someone} asked... did the kids get you anything? A card? A gift? A high-5? And I hadn't thought about it. Nope... 8 weeks. Why would they get me anything, especially if I'm the guy that makes them do homework, makes them run laps, scolds them, force them to endure my jokes. But alas... the unexpected gifts I got.... that rocked my world... where the personal thank you notes from the parents.
"We were so excited when we found out that you were going to be his teacher again. He really loves and admires you as his teacher and instructor. "
"Thank you SO much for your love and dedication in serving the Children Ministry. It was truly a blessing to have you as a teacher for Let’s Proclaim class!"
"XXXX loves being in your class and she has definitely learned something that will change her life for the better."
I even got a voice recording on WeChat...
"Henry, I wanted to thank you personally for your dedication this quarter."And alas... biting off more than I can chew resulted in this....
"你对他的评价也非常中肯。你对教学的态度也是让我非常敬佩的！感谢赞美主!"
"我非常感动于您这一份教育的热忱和对主的忠诚，我无法用更贴切的语言来感谢你的用心支持并总结XXX的经历主耶稣成长的道路"Mood: relieved (it's finally over)
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